VMware ESX 3.0.3 and 3.5
VMware ESX 3.x requires a minimum of approximately 8GB.
System
Disk Partitions
100MB
boot partition
5GB system root partition
VMFS partition, if defined, spans the remainder of the
disk
Extended partition
System Disk Logical Partitions
1GB swap partition
2GB system log partition
110MB VMkernel core dump partition
VMware ESX 4.0 and 4.1
For VMware ESX 4.x, the ESX Console OS is instead situated within
a virtual machine disk (.vmdk) file on a VMFS file system. The size of this
disk file varies between deployments, based on the size of the logical unit
used. A minimum requirement is approximately 8GB.
Notes:
The stored Console OS virtual machine disk files may increase in
size over the course of a deployment, accommodating for additional log data and
files.
It can be stored on a SAN LUN or different block device than the
system disk, as long as it has been partitioned and formatted as VMFS.
The Console OS disk, as a best practice, should not be situated on
a shared SAN LUN.
System Disk Partitions
1100MB boot partition
110MB VMkernel core dump partition
Extended partition spans the remainder of the disk
Logical VMFS partition spanning the remainder of the extended
partition
VMFS Partition / Console OS VMDK Partitions
These are partitions that reside within the Console OS VMDK,
stored on the formatted VMFS volume:
600MB swap partition
2GB system log partition
Extended partition spanning remainder of Console OS .vmdk file
5GB system (root) partition
VMware ESXi 3.5, 4.0, and 4.1 (Installable)
VMware ESXi installations benefit from reduced space and memory
requirements due to the omission of the Console OS. It requires approximately
6GB of space without a defined VMFS partition or datastore.
When additional block devices are provided, they may be formatted
and utilized as VMFS, or in some cases as additional scratch storage space.
System Disk Partitions
4.2MB FAT boot partition
Extended partition
4.3GB FAT partition for scratch storage and swap
Remainder of device may be formatted as VMFS
Note: The minimum size for a VMFS datastore is approximately 1GB.
System Disk Logical Partitions
250MB FAT partition for a hypervisor bootbank
250MB FAT partition for a second hypervisor bootbank
110MB diagnostic partition for VMkernel core dumps
286MB FAT partition for the store partition (VMware Tools, VMware
vSphere/Infrastructure Client, core)
VMware ESXi 3.5, 4.0, and 4.1 (Embedded / USB)
Embedded VMware ESXi installations typically utilize approximately
1GB of non-volatile flash media via USB. An additional 4-5GB of space may be
defined on local storage for additional scratch storage and swap to be stored.
Persistent logging is not included with embedded ESXi. VMware
recommends configuring remote syslog services for troubleshooting or when
anticipating technical issues. For additional information, see Enabling syslog
on ESXi (1016621).
USB Device Primary Partitions
4.2MB FAT boot partition
Extended partition
USB Device Logical Partitions
250MB FAT partition for a hypervisor bootbank
250MB FAT partition for a second hypervisor bootbank
110MB diagnostic partition for VMkernel core dumps
286MB FAT partition for the store partition (VMware Tools, VMware
vSphere/Infrastructure Client, core).
Local Disk Partitions (If Present)
4.3GB FAT partition for scratch storage and swap
110MB diagnostic partition for VMkernel core dumps
Remainder of device may be formatted as VMFS
Note: The minimum size for a VMFS datastore is approximately 1GB.
For additional information on these installation requirements, see
the respective installation guide for your chosen product in the VMware
Documentation pages.
VMware ESXi 5.0 (Installable)
For fresh installations, several new partitions are created for
the boot banks, the scratch partition, and the locker.
Fresh ESXi installations use GUID Partition Tables (GPT) instead
of MSDOS-based partitioning. The partition table itself is fixed as part of the
binary image, and is written to the disk at the time the system is installed.
The ESXi installer leaves the scratch and VMFS partitions blank and ESXi
creates them when the host is rebooted for the first time after installation
or upgrade.
One 4GB VFAT scratch partition is created for system swap. See
“About the Scratch Partition,” in the vSphere Installation and Setup Guide.
The VFAT scratch partition is created only on the disk from which
the ESXi host is booting. On the other disks, the software creates a VMFS5
partition on each disk, using the whole disk.
During ESXi installation, the installer creates a 110MB diagnostic
partition for core dumps.
VMware ESXi 5.0 (Embedded/USB)
One 110MB diagnostic partition for core dumps, if this partition
is not present on another disk. The VFAT scratch and diagnostic partitions are
created only on the disk from which the ESXi host is booting. On other disks,
the software creates one VMFS5 partition per blank disk, using the whole disk.
Only blank disks are formatted.
In ESXi Embedded, all visible blank internal disks with VMFS are
also formatted by default.
vSphere 5.0 supports booting ESXi hosts from the Unified
Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI). With UEFI you can boot systems from hard
drives, CD-ROM drives, or USB media.
ESXi can boot from a disk larger than 2TB provided that the system
firmware and the firmware on any addin card that you are using support it. See
the vendor documentation.
USB key size for ESXi 5.0 embedded is vendor dependent.
